The mother of an openly gay 17-year-old high school student from Indianapolis says she stands by…
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Young was suspended last month after he fired a stun gun in the air to fend off an attack from a number of classmates who had surrounded him and threatened to cause him physical harm. The stun gun was given to Young by his mother, Chelisa Grimes, after she became frustrated with the school's inaction over her son's frequent bullying complaints.

"I couldn't believe that they did it," Grimes told the Indy Star. "They really kicked him out." Though he can appeal the decision, Young told the paper he may not go back to Arsenal Tech, opting instead to get his GED so he can go to college.

In a prepared statement, Indianapolis Public Schools spokeswoman Mary Louise Bewley said the school had no choice but to expel Young for bringing a weapon onto school grounds.

Several of Young's supporters are planning to protest the decision outside an IPS school board meeting on May 15th. Gay-Straight Alliance Network executive director Carolyn Laub issued a statement excoriating the district for hiding behind its Zero Tolerance policy.

"Dynasty, like many other lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender young people, was pushed out of school by an administration that failed to keep him safe and by school discipline policies that remove students instead of resolve the problem," Laub said.